Tesla Motors, the makers of the electric sports car fetishized by enviros worldwide, is announcing a "modest reduction in near term headcount" in response to the global financial crisis. Additionally, the company is replacing CEO Ze’ev Drori with co-founder Elon Musk, and will move its Detroit operations to its future San Jose headquarters. Drori, who was hired as CEO last December, will continue on the company's board of directors.

"These are extraordinary times," wrote Musk in Tesla's official blog. "The global financial system has gone through the worst crisis since the Great Depression, and the effects are only beginning to wind their way through every facet of the economy. It’s not an understatement to say that nearly every business will be impacted by what has unfolded in the past weeks, and this is true for Silicon Valley as well."

Musk did not say how many workers would lose their jobs. The company employs more than 200 people.